Deep-sea mineral resource development is an important measure to address China’s long-term dependence on strategic mineral resources. Having a complete and reliable equipment system is a prerequisite for China to promote its deep-sea mineral resource development and realize self-dependence of national strategic resources. This study focuses on the development history and current status of deep-sea mineral resource exploration and mining equipment in China and abroad and analyzes the bottlenecks that restrict China’s equipment development from three aspects: complete mining system, core mining equipment, and basic equipment and components. It also summarizes the scientific problems that need to be solved urgently and proposes development goals and key research directions from the perspectives of industrial integration, improvement of green mining system, and optimization of technical support. China should prioritize core equipment development to support large-scale mining, promote the integration of multiple industries and high-quality development of the entire equipment chain, and launch major projects for the development of deep-sea mineral resource exploitation equipment, focusing on the deep integration of production, education, research, and application of core equipment technologies. In addition, the government should provide various policy support and focus on innovation and upgrade of domestically produced equipment to promote the commercialized mining of deep-sea minerals in China.

Offshore oil and gas equipment is crucial for developing offshore oil and gas and strengthening the marine power of a country. In recent years, China’s offshore oil and gas equipment industry has made a series of breakthroughs and is realizing the leap toward ultra-deep water; however, there are still some drawbacks. This study reviews the development status of offshore oil and gas exploration, drilling, construction, and production equipment globally and in China, analyzes the gap between China and the advanced international level, and proposes the key development directions for each type of equipment. Future development goals and the following suggestions are further proposed: (1) upgrading the conventional marine equipment industry through unmanned, intelligent, and standardized development, (2) establishing a system of technologies and equipment for 3000-meter-level oil-gas field development, (3) formulating a key core equipment list to accelerate breakthroughs of core equipment, (4) accelerating the domestication of underwater production equipment, (5) achieving breakthroughs regarding floating liquefied natural gas facilities, (6) improving the marine equipment test and certification system, and (7) exploring the integrated development of offshore oil and gas equipment and offshore new energy resources, thereby providing references for future development of offshore oil and gas equipment in China.

Marine renewable energy (MRE) has the advantages of being green, clean, and renewable, and plays an important role in reducing carbon emissions in the marine sector. MRE equipment and technologies are crucial for the efficient development and utilization of MRE. This study introduces the development status of MRE equipment and technologies in China and abroad, analyzes the international development trend of MRE equipment and technologies, and examines the problems existing in the development of MRE equipment and technologies in China. Specifically, the development levels of different types of MRE equipment and technologies are uneven, the comprehensive utilization of multiple energy resources is inadequate, and China still lags behind the advanced international level regarding the reliability, operation, and maintenance of the MRE equipment and technologies. To improve equipment reliability, reduce power generation costs, and ensure safety and environmental protection, we suggest that China should formulate a medium- and long-term plan that supports the sustainable and innovative development of MRE equipment and technologies, develop core technologies of MRE equipment, explore application scenarios for the integrated development of multiple energy resources, and attract more investment to accelerate industrial development.

Marine research equipment is critical for the development of marine science. In recent years, China has made breakthroughs regarding the independent research and development of marine research equipment, and some types of the equipment have reached the advanced international level; however, technologies for the equipment still face various challenges. In this paper, the current status of the marine research equipment is reviewed, including research vessels, underwater vehicles, buoys, marine sensors, and marine observation networks. The problems encountered in the technical development of China’s marine research equipment are analyzed from the aspects of key components, technology research and development, data management, basic support, and demand matching. The future development trends are summarized, namely, green, unmanned, intelligent, and collaborative development for deep sea and polar sea research needs. Meanwhile, the key and core technologies for the overall and each category of marine research equipment are analyzed. To provide references for further promoting the rapid development of marine research equipment, the following development suggestions are proposed: sorting out the technical shortcomings, strengthening the coordination of resources to improve supporting capacity, improving the innovation mechanism to promote interdisciplinarity, strengthening the role of the market to promote the industrialization process, and relying on advanced scientific research platforms to expand international cooperation.

Marine monitoring instruments and equipments are crucial for understanding and managing the ocean. In recent years, significant achievements have been obtained in the technologies and application of marine monitoring instruments and equipments in China. However, China still lags behind developed countries in terms of core technologies and equipment for marine monitoring. This study analyzes the development requirements and development status of China’s marine monitoring instruments and equipment from the aspects of global ocean stereoscopic observation system, national nearshore operational observation system, and technologies and core equipment for marine environment monitoring and detection. Moreover, it elaborates on the problems existing in China’s marine monitoring instruments and equipment in terms of policies and mechanisms, original innovation and basic scientific research, common key technologies, technical standards and testing, as well as cincization and industrialization. Furthermore, we propose key development directions and several suggestions including (1) establishing an innovative system of marine monitoring instruments, (2) expanding the marine monitoring instrument industry, and (3) building a marine public test infrastructure, hoping to provide a reference for the development and research of China’s operational marine stereoscopic monitoring system.

Currently, China’s marine transportation equipment industry develops rapidly and has formed supporting capabilities for advanced assembly and system integration, transforming from technology introduction to independent innovation. However, bottlenecks that restrict long-term development of the industry still exist and China still lags behind with regard to the research and development (R&D) and design of marine transportation equipment. This study focuses on the transformation demands of China’s marine transportation equipment industry for safety, greenness, intelligence, and high efficiency. It summarizes the development experiences of the international marine transportation equipment industry, analyzes the current status of China’s marine transportation equipment industry, and explores the development challenges in terms of equipment, components, technologies, and services. The phased key tasks should focus on the green and intelligent transformation of the industry, coordinated and high-quality development of industrial scale and efficiency, and establishment of a modern industrial system for marine transportation equipment. The major R&D directions are elaborated, including core technologies for green and intelligent equipment, advanced key technologies for high-tech ships, safety resilience of industrial and supply chains, and basic capabilities for high-quality industrial development. Further suggestions are proposed from the perspectives of ensuring investment in scientific and technological innovation, actively developing independent brands, and promoting the integration of emerging technologies into the marine equipment industry, to provide a basic reference for the transformation and upgrading of the shipbuilding industry.

Marine nuclear power equipment (MNPE) is crucial for the sustainable energy supply and carbon emission reduction during deep-sea resource exploitation. However, China has not achieved breakthroughs in the field of civil MNPE, although it has a good foundation in the nuclear and marine equipment industries. Based on the research of MNPE development practices in China and abroad, this study summarizes the advantages and technical sources of MNPE, analyzes future application scenarios and development trends, clarifies the strategic demand and problems of MNPE development in China, and proposes several development suggestions. Currently, MNPE is extending from military to civil use and from land to sea, and its main technical source is compact and integrated pressurized water reactors. In the near future, the equipment types of MNPE will focus on offshore floating nuclear power plants and nuclear-powered icebreakers. To promote the high-quality development of MNPE, it is necessary to clarify the major application scenarios of MNPE in China through top-level planning, formulate regulations, specifications, and supervisory systems through demonstration projects to match with practical development demands, and achieve breakthroughs regarding key technologies such as the construction of marine reactor systems and nuclear power platform assemblies.

Maritime unmanned system are crucial for future intelligent and unmanned warfare. They have become a new height of competition in the maritime domain and will play an increasingly important role in national defense security. Considering the development demand for national intelligence and unmanned strategies, the study analyzes the development status of maritime unmanned systems and corresponding technologies in China and abroad from the aspects of strategic planning and conceptual guidance, technological research and equipment development, and system demonstration and capability verification. The challenges and trends for the development of maritime unmanned systems are summarized and key technical challenges are proposed. Moreover, development pathways of maritime unmanned systems in key directions are explored and countermeasures to promote the sustained, steady, and rapid development of maritime unmanned systems are recommended from the perspectives of overall thinking, system composition, equipment development, and technology breakthroughs.

South China Sea is the largest sea of China with over 70 percent of it being deep-sea area, which is rich in deep-sea resources, particularly oil, gas, and mineral resources. Besides, high temperature, high humidity, and high salinity are the major features that distinguish South China Sea from other sea areas. Therefore, it is of strategic significance to study marine equipment suitable for resource exploitation in South China Sea. This study first reviews the development status and trend of major marine resource exploitation equipment both in China and abroad, examines the development demand for and key technologies of resource exploitation equipment for South China Sea, and proposes the development goals and ideas for the equipment. Furthermore, several suggestions are proposed from the perspective of equipment and industry development. Specifically, a key technology research and development (R&D) center and an emergency rescue center for deep-sea oil and gas development, a R&D center for deep-sea mineral resource exploitation equipment, a deep-sea aquaculture demonstration and experimental area, and a national deep-sea comprehensive test site in the South China Sea are proposed to be built relying on Hainan Province, thus to gradually establish a national deep-sea science and technology innovation center, a national deep-sea engineering equipment support base, and a national deep-sea science and technology industry center.

Against the background of strengthening the marine industry, China’s marine resource development activities have gradually extended to the deep sea. However, due to harsh geological conditions, major submarine geological hazards pose constraints on marine resource development and engineering. It is necessary to comprehensively understand the typical characteristics and causal laws of submarine geological hazards and summarize the monitoring techniques and methods for typical submarine geological hazards. This study provides an overview of the research history of submarine geological hazards and their monitoring. It summarizes the common types and characteristics of submarine geological hazards, and reviews the research on the mechanisms of submarine geological hazard evolution as well as the progress in monitoring techniques and networks for submarine geological hazards. The study suggests that it is important to improve the evaluation theory and methods of submarine geological hazards in circumcontinental shelf basins, strengthen the study of disaster mechanisms and prediction for these hazards, and conduct research on detection and monitoring methods and precursory identification of submarine geological hazards to enhance our understanding of key scientific issues. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the need to establish a comprehensive database of submarine geological hazards in the circumcontinental shelf basins, create a detailed information repository of submarine resource distribution and engineering facilities in the South China Sea’s circumcontinental shelf area, develop visualization and simulation techniques for the dynamic evolution process of submarine geological hazards, and construct a multi-level and multi-hazard cooperative monitoring system and early warning network for submarine geological hazards, aiming to overcome key technological bottlenecks.

Seafloor instability and secondary submarine geohazards are widely present in the ocean, posing a threat to submarine infrastructures such as coastal port facilities, offshore drilling platforms, and submarine pipelines and fiber-optic cables. However, formation mechanisms and controlling factors of seafloor instability are still poorly understood. To improve the understanding, based on the history and development of seafloor instability, this study sorts out the common categories, global distribution, and geophysical characteristics, analyzes the formation mechanisms, controlling factors, and engineering geohazards risks, and summarizes popular quantitative analysis methods for seafloor instability. Subsequently, the application and limitations of experimental simulation technology for the slope instability process are discussed. Focused on the disaster mechanism, intelligent analysis of multi-source data, and three-dimensional monitoring of seabed instability, this study proposed the development direction and countermeasures of future seafloor instability research, aiming to provide guiding suggestions for the simulation, prediction, and warning of seafloor instability.

Marine carbon geological sequestration is crucial for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutralization in China. However, there exist risks of carbon dioxide (CO₂) leakage that leads to seabed geological disasters, severely threatening the safety of marine engineering. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to monitor the environmental geology of sequestration areas. This study briefly introduces several demonstration cases of marine carbon geological sequestration and explores the disaster mechanism associated with CO₂ leakage in seabed sequestration areas. It also sorts out the marine environment monitoring technologies in typical CO₂ controlled release tests via examples and analyzes the environmental geology monitoring technologies related to CO₂ leakage, including seismic investigation and monitoring, resistivity monitoring, gravity monitoring, seabed deformation monitoring, and sediment pore pressure monitoring. Moreover, the prospects of China’s marine carbon geological sequestration and its environmental geology monitoring are presented. We suggest that long-time, low-cost, and real-time monitoring technologies should be developed, a systematic and intelligent multi-dimensional disaster identification model should be established in combination with the baseline investigation of the sequestration areas, and a multi-faceted, multi-level, and multi-disaster monitoring and forecasting system should be built.

Seabed fluid migration is a critical process that involves the transport and movement of liquids, gases, and seawater within and outside the seabed, which has significant impacts on the genesis, development, and evolution of seabed geological disasters. Notably, typical disasters such as submarine landslides in the sea area of China demonstrate a strong relevance with seabed fluid migration phenomena. In this paper, we analyze the distribution characteristics of typical fluid migration system types and geological disaster causes taking the northern South China Sea as an example, and we summarize the observation and investigation methods of seabed fluid migration. Furthermore, we propose the primary issues and content that must be addressed in the study of disasters induced by seabed fluid migration and their prevention and control. Specifically, we suggest that research should focus on the three phases, namely disaster genesis induced by deep high-pressure fluid migration, disaster development caused by gas hydrate decomposition and fluid migration, and disaster triggering resulting from ocean water movement. Based on breakthroughs in technological bottlenecks such as multi-system integration, multi-scale cooperation, and multi-dimensional information processing in deep-sea exploration, we must conduct in-depth research on the evolution mechanisms of seabed disaster genesis, development, and triggering under the influence of seabed fluid migration. Additionally, we must develop theoretical methods for seabed disaster risk prevention and control under the coupled effects of seabed fluid migration, geological environment, and human activities.

Public goods for the global ocean sustainable development (GOSD) are key to promoting the sustainable development of oceans globally. To understand the utilization and protection status of global ocean resources as well as the international cooperation and trend regarding GOSD, this study summarizes the current status and development trends of the GOSD public goods in China and abroad, analyzes the major scientific and technological problems and challenges faced by China in related fields, and proposes the development priorities of the GOSD public goods in terms of engineering technologies. Furthermore, it proposes that China should boost its comprehensive strength in ocean science and technology by establishing an effective mechanism for ocean observation and data sharing and enhance international cooperation and strategic planning to promote its international influence in the field of GOSD public goods.

Intelligent manufacturing is the main upgrading direction for China’s manufacturing industry and high-end new materials are core for high-end equipment and major engineering projects; therefore, promoting the integration of intelligent manufacturing and high-end new material manufacturing is crucial for enhancing the manufacturing capacity of high-end new materials and satisfying the demand of major equipment for high-end new materials. This study first analyzes the necessity of promoting intelligent manufacturing for high-end new materials. With increasing demands for high-performance manufacturing of high-end new materials, integration and lightweight manufacturing of complex components, and efficient and low-cost green manufacturing of high-end components, serious problems and huge challenges have been encountered by the traditional trial-and-error method for materials manufacturing. Meanwhile, grand opportunities are provided by a data-driven research and development mode for intelligent materials manufacturing. Taking materials forming and processing as an example, the common key technologies of intelligent materials manufacturing that need to be developed are systematically clarified, and countermeasures and suggestions to accelerate the development of intelligent manufacturing for high-end new materials, including key technology research and development, innovation system establishment, interdisciplinary talent cultivation, and achievement transfer, are also proposed, in order to support the upgrading and leapfrog development of China’s materials industry.

The rapid development of key technologies for the intelligent research and development (R&D) of new materials has significantly promoted the R&D efficiency and industrialization of materials and attracted global attention. China’s development in this field lags behind the advanced international level in terms of key technologies and infrastructures, which has restricted the original innovation and industrial development of the material sector. This study summarizes the key technologies involving the intelligent R&D of new materials, explores the developing status of these key technologies in China and abroad, and analyzes the challenges faced by China. Moreover, the intelligent R&D technology system is summarized including intelligent computing and design technologies and software, autonomous/intelligent experiment technologies and equipment, artificial-intelligence-driven basic algorithms and technologies, digital twins, intelligent R&D platforms and collaborative innovation networks. Furthermore, countermeasures are proposed from the aspects of innovative ecology construction, industrial environment improvement, standards system establishment, talent training, and international cooperation.

With the rapid development of world’s technological level and the urgent demand of national economic construction for high-performance alloy materials, traditional single-component alloys gradually fail to satisfy the increasing service requirements. Owing to their unique physical, chemical, and mechanical properties, high-entropy alloys are expected to play an important role in major engineering fields such as national defense, aviation, aerospace, marine, nuclear energy, medical care, and new energy, greatly expanding the design range of metal material compositions. In this paper, based on the specific demands of advanced high-entropy alloy materials in various fields, the characteristics and connotations of high-entropy alloy materials are summarized, and the overall situation and prospects of high-entropy alloy material development are analyzed, as well as the current status of high-entropy alloy development in China and abroad. On this basis, the gaps and deficiencies in the field of high-entropy alloys in China are pointed out. First, some basic raw materials of the high-entropy alloys still rely on imports, which severely threatens the security of the industrial chain. Second, the research and development investment in industrial application of high-entropy alloys needs to be increased, and the industrial–academia–research–application system of high-entropy alloys is not yet sound. Regarding the above-mentioned issues, this study proposes the following policies and measures: strengthening the top-level design of high-entropy alloy material research and development while improving industrial policies; strengthening the connection and communication between enterprises and research institutes; improving the standardization, testing, characterization, and evaluation systems of high-entropy alloy materials; advancing the construction of talent teams; and reducing material costs and creating high value-added products, to promote the systematic, green, high-end, and intelligent development of China’s advanced high-entropy alloy material industry.

Plastic products are a significant component of the manufacturing industry and the plastic industry is closely related to economic and social development. As constraints from resources and environment tighten, rational disposal and utilization of waste plastics becomes crucial for the sustainable economic and environmental development. Currently, the variety of plastic products becomes abundant, and disposal technologies and application challenges are constantly updated. Considering the demand for high-quality development of the industry and increasingly strict environmental protection requirements, a systematic analysis of the research progress of waste plastic disposal and utilization becomes urgent. In this study, the waste plastic disposal and utilization technologies are categorized into mechanical disposal of waste plastics, energy and resource conversion, regeneration recycling, and new technologies for disposal and utilization. These four types of technologies are expounded from the aspects of technical features, applicable conditions, and research progress. On the basis, facing the technical challenges and referring to the existing experience of developed countries, suggestions are proposed from the aspects of source reduction, sorted recycling of waste plastics, and technological innovation and transformation, hoping to provide a reference for the clean disposal and recycling of waste plastics in China.

This study reviews the metal corrosion problem regarding the carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology and aims to deepen the understanding and research on this problem and thus deal with the severe material corrosion failures in the capture, transportation, utilization, and storage systems. Based on the novel corrosion environments, the uniqueness of corrosion behaviors, limited cognition, and relative lack of protective measures in CCUS technology systems, this study analyzes the possible types of metal corrosion and its major influencing factors, explores the challenges it brings, and draws the following conclusions. For the CO₂ organic amine capture system, the degradation mechanism of absorbents and the impact of degradation products on the corrosion process are complex, and some degradation products have a inhibitory effect on metal corrosion. The internal corrosion issue of dense-phase CO₂ transmission pipelines cannot be ignored, and controlling the moisture content is the key to controlling this corrosion problem. The risk of corrosion failures leading to CO₂ leakage is high in the wellbore tubing of CO₂ enhanced oil recovery utilization and storage systems under the long-term coupled effects of ultra-high CO₂ partial pressure, carbon source impurities, high mineralized formation water, microorganisms, and stress. Finally, the research that needs to be conducted urgently in the future is prospected, including the corrosion impact of different carbon source impurities on each subsystem, the material degradation law in the wellbore area under long-term storage conditions, and corrosion protection technologies of CCUS systems.

Given the frequent occurrence of natural disasters and public emergencies, China’s land space security is facing severe challenges, especially in terms of disaster risk prevention and control as well as the planning and development of land space resilience. It is imperative to integrate resilience planning with national land space planning, to improve land space’s capacity for disaster prevention and mitigation and satisfy the country’s requirements for high-quality development of the national land. This study analyzes the current status and existing problems in the planning and construction of China’s land space resilience, proposes the objectives and general ideas, and constructs an overall framework for the planning and construction of national space resilience. A development path is also summarized from the aspects of technology methods, spatial governance, and working system. Furthermore, countermeasures are suggested from three aspects, namely, optimizing the legal and regulatory system, policy system, and technical standards system, to provide a decision-making reference for the research and practice of land space resilience planning and construction in China.

A smart society is an important component of the digital China strategy; however, the construction of the smart society currently faces practical challenges. Studying a systematic construction method for the smart society will cultivate new competitive advantages for China, promote Chinese path to modernization, and realize the digital China strategy. This study aims to explore methods for building a new type of smart society and maximizing the benefits of social resources. It analyzes the current status and development trends of smart society construction and summarizes the prominent problems including large investment in decentralized construction, low operational efficiency, and uneven development. Following a systems engineering method, an overall architecture for the systematic construction of the smart society is proposed. The architecture adopts a new “1+N+X” model that focuses on coordinating information infrastructure resources of the entire society to build a smart society system capability support platform, thus to expand various business applications accordingly. Moreover, we propose the following suggestions: (1) strengthening top-level design to build a system capability support platform that integrates network, cloud, data, control, and intelligence, thereby forming a basic digital base for the smart society; (2) adopting a new model of systematic construction to promote the sustainable development of smart society construction through efficient operation; (3) establishing a comprehensive standards and regulations system for the smart society; and (4) providing solid theoretical, technical, and talent support for the systematic construction of the smart society by building a national laboratory for digital systems engineering of the smart society.

Standard reference data is a type of high-quality scientific data and has both metrological and technical standard attributes; therefore, it is an important national science foundation and strategic resources. Research on the standard reference data in China lags significantly behind the advanced world level, causing potential risks to scientific research and production. This study explores the scientific connotation, extended characteristics, and strategic values of standard reference data, and analyzes the progress, management system, international influence, and practical application of standard reference data in the United States. Moreover, the current status of standard reference data development in China is viewed, key problems such as unclear concept, insufficient top-level design, lack of data resource accumulation, and missing management system are highlighted, and a construction path for standard reference data in China is proposed. Furthermore, the study recommends establishing a sound policy system for standard reference data, strengthening the financial guarantee for relevant research, strengthening publicity and education to accelerate the cultivation of talents, and encouraging international cooperation.

The shipping industry, which undertakes over 90% of global trade and transportation, has rich digital scenarios. Empowering the shipping industry through smart port construction and integrating ports with virtual–real integration to form a smart port digital base has become an industry consensus. This study defines the smart ports and the virtual–real integration technology system, and analyzes the demand of port operation for virtual–reality integration technology from five aspects: operation planning, activity implementation, equipment operation and maintenance, safety and emergency response, and energy conservation. It also summarizes maps of six virtual–real integration technologies and their application scenarios in smart ports, the technologies being system simulation, extended reality, information-physical system, digital twin, parallel system, and metaverse. After sorting out the development idea and examining scientific issues, a system framework is proposed for the high-quality development of smart ports driven by virtual–real integration technologies, covering the development positioning of technology systems, key technology development directions, and research directions in key fields. Suggestions for development are proposed from the perspectives of deepening application, policy incentives, technological demonstration, and talent cultivation, thereby providing a reference for the engineering application of the virtual–real integration technology system in smart ports.

Cultured meat is a strategic emerging industry that integrates advanced biotechnology and food technology and it may lead to industrial restructuring and development pattern transformation of the agricultural field. As the cultured meat technology develops toward commercialization, it is of great significance to analyzing the technological trend of the industry. This study first summarizes the industrial status and research progress of the core raw materials and reagents for cultured meat production, including well-bred animals, seed cells, culture media, and scaffolding materials. Then the manufacturing technology bottlenecks and the industrial competition pattern of main equipment (e.g., biosafety cabinets and bioreactors) for cultured meat production are analyzed. Furthermore, the key technology system and development trend for the large-scale production of cultured meat are reviewed, including the establishment of seed cell banks, bioprocess of large-scale cell culture, development of low-cost culture medium, and food processing technology. In view of the weakness in the cultured meat industry foundation in China, the following suggestions are proposed: (1) accelerating the localization of reagents and equipment to improve the industrial chain; (2) improving the cultured meat technical system by strengthening the international layout of intellectual property rights, (3) optimizing discipline classification while promoting education through school-enterprise integration; (4) improving risk assessment and formulating group standards, and (5) popularizing scientific knowledge to enhance the public acceptance of cultured meat.